Can’t Find Brisket? Use One of these 3 Substitutes

What “type” of brisket are you trying to substitute?

If the Flat:

• Chuck Roast
• Tri-tip

If the Point:

• 3-bone Dino Plate Ribs

The best middle-ground is Chuck Roast – it’s the cheapest, takes half the time to smoke, is less fatty than dino ribs BUT has enough fat to not dry out.

1. Chuck Roast or “Poor Man’s Brisket” – $4.98/lb-ish (2-4 lb roast)

A 2-3 lb chuck roast will take 4-5 hours to smoke and 30-60 minutes to rest.

Chuck roasts are fattier than most other roasts from a cow.  

This fat is actually beneficial because the fat will help to keep it from drying out.

Look for at least a choice grade Chuck Roast – prime is even better.

The meat is also filled with collagen as the legs are used for movement – similar to brisket.

Meaning low and slow smoking times and temperatures help to gelatinize the collagen, also keeping it moist.

Unlike tri-tip, you won’t need Prime-grade or Waygu to compensate.

You can follow the exact same strategy as Brisket:

• Smoke at 250F with Post oak or similar hardwood
• Use the same Rub
• Wrap when the bark is dark or 170F-ish.
• Take off to rest when probe tender.

2. Tri-tip or “Trisket” – $10.98/lb (1.5 – 3 lbs)

A 2-3 lb tri-tip will take 4-5 hours to smoke and 30-60 minutes to rest.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of doing this because Tri-tip is SO good as a steak.

I’d almost always recommend that you smoke and reverse sear it; It’ll be MUCH juicier, still tender when sliced against the grain, etc.

With that said, you can smoke it like a brisket.

You need to be strategic though.

Buy a tri-tip that’s at least prime grade – the higher the grade means the more fat and less likely it will dry out.

Buy a bigger roast if possible – this gives it more time on the smoker before it reaches tenderness.

When slicing, you need to turn the meat like you would a brisket to slice against the grain.

3. Dino Short Plate Ribs “Brisket on a Stick” – $11.98/lb (4-6 lbs)

These will take 7-8 hours to smoke and 1 hour to rest.

These ribs come from the short plate section of the cow which is right next to the brisket – hence “Brisket on a stick.”

They’re more similar to point meat than they are flat meat; This is so true that you can take 1 bite and be happy.

They’re one of the easiest cut of meat to smoke on the entire cow and are incredibly hard to mess up – unlike brisket which is definitely one of the harder cuts to smoke.

They’re also incredibly expensive and like brisket they’ll lose half their weight when smoked.

So you’re paying more for less meat essentially.

If You’re Looking to Use the Meat for Chopped Beef

The same cuts above work well but so do these:

• Beef shanks
• Beef cheeks